What I learned at truck driving school

Very good write up..........you invested a lot of time into it.

I could summarize it by saying...DON'T SIGN A CONTRACT FOR YOUR CDL TRAINING!!!!

There is an enormous difference between getting your training done by someone that views you as an indentured servant and someone that sees you as a customer.

When you are a slave to CR England, PAM, Prime, Central Refrigerated or whatever....they view you as a commodity, a tool for them to use up and throw away. Meat in the seat as it were.

When you go to a school as a customer, they owe you what you paid for....they cannot just discard you.

That plus the job you get afterward is lightyears better than anything a contract training carrier will ever provide you.

 

Meat in the seat as it were! Now I like that, I REALLY like that!

 

This has truly given me something to think about. I am 50 and looking to do something else other cut meat and run a crew. I admit, I am a little scared of doing this. Especially the part where I give up my current job to go to a company sponsored school. If I wash out then I have no job at all. That is my big fear. I have considered going to a sort of local school for private lessons to actually see if this is for me. But, like all things in life, it is not cheap. But, 225.00 for each lesson to discover whether this is for me or not is not a bad investment of time. I figure i should know in about 3 lessons. Any thoughts?

 

There are a lot of us out there that got into driving at 50+. But a whole bunch of us that did so, did it with the backup of a military or public safety pension to keep us going if things didn't work out. I was also blessed with an understanding wife that had a good job. Actually, for this area, a very good job. It surely helps to know that your livelihood does not depend on a new venture!

 

Thank you for such a superb write up. I graduated college last winter and after doling out a few hundred applications, and resumes, I've about given up trying to get into something in my degree field. I have family in trucking and am looking into it for myself as well. I can drive manual transmissions, but I've never driven a diesel before, so that will be new. Thanks again for such an enlightening post.